Knowledge is Power

Self-publishing is a growing trend among writers. With avenues into the various traditional publishing houses becoming narrower and narrower, often times, doing it yourself and going it alone are the only ways you’ll ever see your work in something resembling print.

I began writing as a child and continued all the way to the present: short stories, poetry, songs, screenplays, etc….all the while hoping that one day I might be discovered and become the next Stephen King. I probably would have never given self-publishing a second thought if it weren’t for my newsletter.

I put out a newsletter as a part of my then career in music, blathering about what was going on in my life, announcing upcoming shows and projects, and generally trying to make folks’ lives a little brighter by offering some off the wall humor and inspiration. After a time, people began to suggest that this might make good material for a book.

I took on the task which, once completed, I had no idea what to do with. Somehow, a collection of musings (no matter how brilliant) from a relatively unknown regional musician just didn’t sound like something traditional publishers would be chomping at the bit to snap up. What to do?

Then it hit me…..I was touring full time and had a ready made audience……the people that would likely be on my mailing list were in attendance at my concerts every night. I could produce the book myself, and market it at my various appearances. The result was the book “Crossroads” published in 2007.

If you are thinking about diving into the self-publishing well, there are a few things to consider. First, the good stuff:

You have control. You are able to control the whole process. In traditional publishing, once a manuscript leaves your hands, it goes to somebody else for editing, somebody else for artwork, somebody else for marketing, etc. Self-publishing authors retain all rights and control over how the work is produced and used.

You know your market. You have a product that may have a specific niche audience, one you are very familiar with. I was a Christian music artist and had written an inspirational book based largely on some difficult times in my life. I knew this book would have an audience.

A matter of time. Self-publishing gets you on the streets quickly. If you are accepted by a traditional publishing house, it may still be more than a year before your book hits the shelves. The turnaround time on my book was only a matter of weeks following my beating it into final draft status.

Money. At the end of the day, let’s face it; it’s all about the money. In traditional publishing, an author gets about 10% of the selling price per book. A self-publishing writer can receive up to 60% of the selling price. There is motivation here to do well.

Sound good so far? Well, stay tuned, children, because there is always a darker side. Some of the negatives include:

Flying solo. Traditional houses have large teams of professionals in all areas of production, from editing, graphic design, packaging, sales, distribution, legal, etc……you need to either get really competent in all these fields or be prepared to part with some cash to hire qualified help.

Marketing. This is the toughest nut to crack. Many of us can write, but successful marketing is a unique talent all its own. How are you going to get enough folks to buy your book for it to be successful?

Money. In self-publishing, you have to invest your own money into your project, with no guarantee that you will ever see a return on that investment. With traditional publishers you generally get an advance and royalties if your book sells well.

Prejudice. There is a knee jerk reaction to self-publishing, with some people believing “ well, if the author had to publish it himself, this thing must really suck.” Of course self-publishing also put authors in the same company as Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.

So there you are with your manuscript. Weigh the pros and cons, and go after the scenario that best suits your personal and professional goals. Now, go therefore and write well….

Darrell is Direcftor Of Content at LeadsByFone LLC, alead generation company servicing the water damage restoration industry.

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If I were sitting in the room talking to you, you’d fall asleep.

No, wait, let me start over.

If I were sitting in the room talking to you, and you didn’t understand something I said, you could ask me for clarification.

With my writing, you can’t do that. You can send me an email, but if I even bother to answer you’ll end up waiting too long. So I have to be very clear in my writing.

That’s one reason we plan before we write.

What if you read something that you don’t agree with? I have to anticipate any and all possible disagreements, and address them adequately but not to excess, when I can’t even talk to you. You might read these words two months later and half a world away.

Planning.

Writing requires fluency, clarity, accuracy, and an economy of words. In your favor, you can self-edit as many times as you want. You can spend weeks (months) on a paper.

But you do have to plan.

Let’s do that now.

“What’s your paper about?” If I ask you that, and you can answer me in one or maybe three sentences, you’re on the right track. If not, you’ve got some more thinking to do.

But I’m probably skipping ahead. It’s possible to start writing your paper without really knowing what it’s about, and only finding out when you’re almost done.

In other words, it’s probable that the first sentence of your paper is the last one you write.

Also, the prospect of writing an entire paper can be daunting. Planning breaks your major project down into manageable steps.

So let’s start planning.

1. What’s your paper about? Can you tell me in a single sentence? Again, your search of the literature might refine this somewhat.

2. Is it worth writing? Have similar findings been reported? Is there a need for another report? If applicable, has your literature search turned up similar cases or reviews?

3. So what? How would your paper change concept or practice?

4. Who cares? Meaning, who would read your paper? Why?

The first step about the single sentence, incidentally, reminds me of something Einstein said. “If you can’t explain it to an eight-year-old, you don’t understand it.” I need to put that on a plaque.

The four steps above show my medical background, but you get the idea. Here’s a general prescription for any writing project.

1. Spend some time thinking before you start writing your rough draft.

2. Compile a list of your ideas while you are thinking.

3. Put the list in some order that makes sense to you (most to least important, sequential/chronological, etc.).

4. Write the rough draft.

5. Write a final draft that shows some changes from the initial draft.

6. Read your writing aloud, and you’ll hear mistakes and find ways to correct them.

Yes, it is that simple.

Michael LaRocca has spent the past ten years (and counting) in Asia, helping hundreds of scientific writers get published in international peer-reviewed journals. He’s recently published all he’s learned from the experience in a free white paper, HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC PAPER WORTH READING. http://www.michaeledits.com/scientific-paper.html

What do you think is the reason why your paragraphs have gotten so badly? Have you notice it yourself or are you unaware about the current standing of you writing?

Basically, every writer knows where their writing had gotten wrong. And most of the time, they know if they have commit any mistakes in their grammars. A writer has to be an editor towards their own writing though there are some who are only relying to what they can write and let other people edit and correct their work.

However, if you want to improve your skills in writing more, it is best that you know how to correct your own mistakes in writing.

The most common problem why most writers tend to commit bad writing is because of grammar issues. Many writers fail to write good grammars or even notice that they already committed one.

Your paragraphs are very important in your content since they contain vital information or ideas that best describe the topic. Paragraphs shows how they are related to one another so that the concept of your topic will be described clearly and systematically.

However, there are situations where paragraphs are written so poorly and the worst part is that, not all writers are aware about it. This can lead your work to rejection if you happen to submit your final work. How will you react if you’ve been into this kind of problem in writing? instead of worrying in a corner, you should relax for you to solve this problem easily.

But, will you spend hours or days to correct your writing? You don’t have to. Fixing your writing can be done with less consumed time. You don’t have to take forever just to make it perfect.

When your teacher or editor says you are writing in poorly-developed paragraphs, do you know what they mean? After all, there’s no way you can improve unless you actually understand what they’re trying to tell you.

Most of the time, your problem will fall under one or more of these. Figure it out by allotting appropriate time to reviewing your work with the help of a powerful editing software.

Your ideas are lacking. The supporting points may be clear in your head, but unless you write it in a detailed and specific manner, it will come across as vague and abstract. Guess what, your paragraphs will turn out undeveloped. Provide enough detail, examples and illustration for each paragraph’s main point in order to paint a clear image in the reader’s mind.

You omitted necessary items. Many times, a process or a flow of thought is so clear to you that you take it for granted that your reader will be of the same mind. Guess what? They’re often not. Explain the relationships between ideas fully. There’s immense value in being thorough.

You need to define the terms you use. During the course of your research, you will come across different terms. Many of those will likely have different meanings depending on your reader. You will need to clarify how you want them defined for the purposes of your piece, lest risk a potential misunderstanding.

See how innovative Power Editing Software instantly can boost your English writing and watch how NLP technology can help you to write perfect emails, essays, reports and letters. More Info.